Gardeners' Notes:

When it flops over, cut it back hard, it will come back again and again. I typically get 3-4 bloomings per season from mine. Great medicinal plant, and also good supplement for any grass eating animal.

My Comfrey patch flourishes here in zone 3b, Minnesota! No problems!
A couple of years ago, a well-meaning relative decided to rototill my side garden when I wasn't home... My one tall comfrey plant became over the years, a patch of about 10 plants. (this is my "Invasives" garden.. Black-stemmed peppermint, comfrey, egyptian walking onions and sedum as well as the comfrey!*grin*)

I loved this plant. I had bought Comfrey seed, planted them in the spring and they never came up that summer. Two years later, I have this plant growing by my front door and I realize it is from the Comfrey seed I had planted before! It was beautiful but later in the summer when it got so big, it started collapsing and getting in the way of my door.

A friend of mine sent me a recipe to make homemade comfrey salve. Another friend sent me a small tiny plant in April 2005. Well, I got no flowers last year but did get enough leaves to make a very small batch of salve to give out as Christmas gifts. And I can say nothing but good of this plant when made of salve. I dropped a teakettle of boiling hot water on my stomach while making a thermos of tea for my husband. I had nothing in the house to put on it as it was 4 am in the morning. I grabbed the salve and put it all over my stomach. It took less then 5 mins. for the pain to go away but my whole stomach was dark red. By the time I got to the Dr. he said I had 2nd and 3rd degree burns. He could not believe I didn't end up in the ER. Of course he made me use an antibiotic covered ... read morefor 2 weeks, but it wasn't doing anything so I starting using my salve again and within 3 days it skinned over and you can hardly even see a scar there. I have a huge plant this year and will have to probably use some for compost around tomato plants next year as I have way too much for making salve this year. But I can't say enough good about the comfrey plant.

I've wanted to start growing comfrey for some time,reading anything and everything on its history of use. I have my first plant in the herb bed-because its growing fast, and also I decided to grow a comfrey bed all by itself, I will move it this week. I'm growing the comfrey bed for compost reasons and home medicinal purposes. Ive had the opportunity to use it on myself 2 weeks ago when I fell thru the rotted back deck{will be removed}and injured my leg with 3 good size areas of black and blue and scraping.I applied the poultice 2 nites in a row,on the 4th day the bruising was gone,most of the swelling, and only a little tenderness.Last nite I took a comfrey bath, and my skin and hair is very soft. This is one herb that deserves priority attention in my gardens.

This plant is very vigorous. Last year, my husband took roundup to an area of our yard that had been the previous owner's vegetable garden. They had seeded it with comfrey as a cover crop, then it had lain fallow for three years.The area filled in with a sprinkling of comfrey and a lot of other native wildflowers, grasses and weeds. The comfrey appeared to die off last fall, but came back vigorously in the spring. My husband then applied roundup in early spring. No other plants returned, just the comfrey! And that is in zone 4b where it should be only marginally hardy! I don't have a problem with this as I like the comfrey, but I can see that it might be invasive where less welcome. Lousy idea for a cover crop!

I have tried growing it from seedlings given to me by a friend. Mine have not fared too well....hers are gorgeous! She uses it as a border plant and when it starts getting rambunctious she pulls the strays up and chops them into the mulch pile to use on other herbs and veggies.

My friend is a hollistic physician and also uses it for medicinal purposes.

Beautiful, huge, dark green leaves that spring up seemingly out of nowhere in spring. I wouldn't call it invasive since it doesn't spread, but if you plan to put it in your garden, MAKE SURE it's where you want it because you probably won't get it out again.

Medicinal plant aka Knitbone.For humans and animals.
Excessive internal use not recommended.
Be advised by a medical herbalist before internal self treatment.
Can be used as a feed for your garden and also used to encourage breakdown of compost heaps.

I have used Comfrey on myself and my children. It is also great for rabbits with digestive problems, such as bloat and diarrhea); the studies I have read show that one would have to eat or drink a great amount of this to get the bad effect they report.

I have this plant on my hundred year old farm, the German immigrants who built this house were vegetarians and mostly self-reliant. The family says it has been here as long as they can remember, for over 80 years, and in the same spot.

I do not find it invasive. I have relocated some where I need something green growing. Easy hardy plant. It flops mid-summer, run the mower over and it comes up a 2nd time. If you mow it enough it will give up.

Grown from a very tiny seedling about seven years ago, my plant now approaches five feet in height. It hasn't invaded other parts of the garden, is almost indestructible, and is a fantastic plant for attracting bees!

I bought one of these plants last year at a neighbourhood plant sale, can't say that I was real impressed the first year, but this year...it is wonderful. My plant is now almost 4 ft. tall and is not being invasive in any way. I guess time will tell. It might be because of my climate (cold winters). This is probably the healthiest plant in my garden this year. It is making quite an impressive showing.

Comfrey grows with little care or additional water in the protected microclimate of my Denver kitchen garden: midday sun only, bounded on one side by a large rosemary bush, and on the other by Chocolate Mint. It hasn't spread in three years, but only becomes more robust (it tends to fall over by midsummer, but can be cut back for a second bloom.)

I have grown this plant for years in a pot to keep it from spreading. The pot is never placed on bare ground. I trim the root ball in late fall and keep only the younger, center core of the plant to overwinter. I have used the leaves for medicinal purposes in combination with other herbs as a salve. It worked quite well. I harvest and dry the leaves while they are still young. They can also be used fresh for wounds.

Loves humus rich, deep, fertile, neutral, well drained soil in a sunny position but will tolerate quite a bit of shade. Has a long tap root which can reach over 10ft long and once planted can be difficult to erradicate.

Many years ago it was a popular medicinal plant and has many common names such as knitbone and bruisewort. It's leaves were made into a liquid, oily substance which was used to heal skin inflammations. Fresh, young leaves were made ... read moreinto a poultice to reduce swellings, burns, very dry, cracked skin and cuts. This has been used for centuries and has some scientific fact.

Leaves and roots were also used for stomach ulcers, coughs, respiritory and digestion problems, and as a skin softener. Made into a decoction it was used to cure gum problems and was an effective mouthwash. A comfrey cold compress soothed eyes.

Fresh leaves can be boiled to make into a gold dye for cloth.

Young leaves and shoots can be washed and boiled as a vegetable and has a range of minerals and vitamins in small quantities.

The plant can also be chopped up and added to the compost heap, its quite high in potash. Liquid comfrey fertilizer is best when it is made from S. xuplandicum but S. officinale can also be used in the same way.